I got both my girls (sisters) when they were 5 weeks old. They are now 2 years 4 months old. Even when they were very young I would notice the odd small spot of blood on occasion. I have recorded seeing 2 drops of blood on their bed back in August, 2011 and again in Sept 2011. The girls were only 5 months old. I would check both girls over and could never find a source.

I got Abbey and Zoe in May 2011 and they were fed grass, forage and some greens from our garden.

In October they started getting store bought lettuce and less grass and forage. Abbey started getting a dirty bum and once I started ready more on feeding I realized they were getting way too many greens.

I had her to the vet and with her suggestions and the recommendations on the forum I cut back on her greens. The dirty bum cleared up but every since then she still gets a wet urine stain around her opening. I could never figure this out because both girls stool was normal and not soft.

She has always dragged her bum and chewed more underneath as if something was bugging her. I think the urine stain comes from dragging her bum on the hay after she pees. I rinse her bottom every couple of days and that seems to help.

Lynx: The information you were asking for is as follows:

Obvious blood Feb., Aug., Oct., Dec. 2012. Feb., Mar., Apr., May 2013. Many times her urine leaves a dark ring around it or looks pinkish/orange. Then I am not sure if blood is present or not so I bought some urinalysis test strips. Quite often the urine looks clear but still tests for blood.

I think the best advice would be to either get her into the vet for urinalysis, or take a sample in within a few hours of her giving it.

Are her girl parts swollen? Nipples enlarged at all?

edit: I just read through the beginning of your thread. With Marion, she acted normal, ate, etc...everything indicated normal. We barely saw the tumor on the ultrasound and xray showed nothing. In fact, we weren't even sure if it WAS a tumor. The surgery she had was done more as exploratory but I think we all knew she'd end up with a spay, unless there was something found that would have made it not worth it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, sometimes things can't be seen on diagnostics because they are hiding behind another organ, or the vet can't get the right angle. I don't know what the answer is for you, but I do know how frustrating it can be and how nerve-wracking it is to make decisions regarding surgery in these guys. Since Marion is young and healthy and feisty, I felt it was a good decision to do her surgery.

Also, I've never had to fast one of my pigs before an ultrasound. (?) We've just made the decision at the office visit to do one and in come the razor and the machine. I always hold my pigs for them.

I have a large hay tray for Zoe and Abbey. On the tray I put a layer of newspaper, then white paper towel, then I cover the paper towel with cotton fabric. Hay goes on top. I am so aware of the color of their urine because of the white paper towel under the layers.

Most of the time I only see slight dark rings around the dried urine which I now believe also indicates the presence of blood.

Thanks for posting those dates. I have not calculated out the time in between sightings but wanted to make sure what you were seeing was only a day or two with some time in between.

There have been occasional (but rare) reports of bleeding something like this, I think not as frequently noticed, that could be related the the menstrual cycle.

If that is the case, a spay would definitely take care of it. If you have a skilled vet, a spay can be beneficial in that your guinea pig should not develop reproductive issues (cysts or infections). There are always risks to any surgery, however.

I haven't noticed any blood in Abbey's urine for quite awhile. Her sister has two small bladder stones so I am thinking some of the blood I noticed in the cage was from Zoe and I assumed it was from Abbey.

We do have another ongoing issue with Abbey and I am hoping someone might have a suggestion.

Since the beginning of September Abbey's left eye will fill with white cleaning fluid and then after a few seconds clear. When the fluid releases into her eye she squints and it look like it is irritating her eye.

I took her to a local vet and she couldn't find anything obvious so I took her to her usual exotic vet.

She says she can see early signs of a cataract in that eye but everything else looked fine. She checked her teeth because I was concerned it was a root problem. Her teeth looked good except for a slight concave area on one of the upper molars under the affected eye.

Her vet needs to put her under to do an X-ray of her teeth and she also wants to flush the tear duct.

Other than her eye filling with cleaning fluid which happens maybe 2 or 3 times a day she is her usual self. She is not scratching or pawing at her face and is eating well.

Could the cataract be causing the problem? Has anyone had tear ducts flushed on their piggy? Would saline drops help flush the eye?

I would appreciate any information. I would like to be more informed when I take her in to have the teeth x-rays, etc. done. Flushing the tear duct has me a little concerned.

A cataract would not cause that. It is possible a tear duct may be partly blocked. Warm wet compresses could help (very clean warm wet cloth, held over the closed eye). A veterinary ophthalmologist would be your best bet if problems develop. If you are concerned about teeth affecting the eye, an xray would indeed help.

Saline drops won't hurt but it sounds like a tear duct problem. If she is making her white "cleaning fluid", her eyes should be moist enough. I would see a veterinary ophthalmologist if you're thinking of flushing the duct (somewhat unsure about this procedure).

See how well she tolerates it. I would try for, say, at least 5 minutes a time (more if she is okay with it). Perhaps a two or more times a day. You would see if it seems to be helping at all. I have not had to deal with this issue so I am just guessing that this would help.

Sounds good to me. I will let you know if I see an improvement in the next couple of days. Cross your fingers. If it works it sure beats having to put her through the procedure of flushing the tear duct.

If this doesn't work I will see if I can track down a veterinary ophthalmologist.

Abbey's vet also said she has a slight concave area on one of the molars under that eye. She told me about it when she was there on September 20th, but she had also noticed it when she was in for her wellness checkup in April but didn't mention it.

Has anyone had a similar situation with their pigs' teeth. It was this concave area that made me question if she was developing an elongated root on that molar.

I have been treating Abbey's eye with a warm cloth and at first thought it helped but I noticed yesterday some more dampness under her eye.

I really could use a piggy anatomy lesson to try and understand the process of the cleaning fluid.

Where does the cleaning fluid come from? Does it come from a tear duct? Does the cleaning fluid randomly fill the eye and the filling of the eye trigger the guinea pig to clean the face or does the pig somehow trigger the process when they want to wash their face?

When a guinea pig does wash do both eyes release the fluid simultaneously?

Do rabbits also produce white cleaning fluid? There seems to be more information on rabbits and the little bit I have read on discharge from eyes in rabbits suggests tooth issues?

I am leaning towards having the X-ray done to rule out root problems but at this time I am not comfortable having the tear ducts flushed. Their ducts would be so small and I am afraid of damage.

I was really hoping her vet would come up with some sort of drops for the eye that might help.

I really hate to put Abbey through unnecessary procedures. I have done that before.

A veterinary ophthalmologist would definitely be the person to consult/do it if you wanted to pursue opening the tear ducts more.

I don't have answers to your questions but am guessing the fluid would be released from the top of the eye and both eyes at the same time. I wish I could say this with confidence but I don't know for sure. Since they don't blink their eyes like humans do, this (what I think is also an eye lubricant) you'd think would have to be released from above.

I think your suggestion of the warm compress did actually help. It may not cure the problem but the eye didn't release the white fluid as often. I didn't apply the compress last night and notice more fluid today. It was a lot better after the treatments. I need to treat her eye everyday for a week and see if there are any long term benefits.

I have access to a veterinary ophthalmologist. Apparently she comes into our area twice a month.

Do you think adding 1/4 teaspoon of nasal salt to 1 cup of sterile water would be better than plain water. That is the solution I use to flush my sinuses.